The Novotny design is interesting. It shows that there are many ways to skin a cat. Skewing the top tube cleverly simplifies hinge design. But is it unforgivably funny looking?

Folded, it reminds me of designing a saggital saw (for orthopedic surgery) back in the late 70s at Black & Decker. Research involved case studies. One patient was a ballerina with a bad knee. She opted to have her knee fused, instead of getting an artificial joint. In a post-surgery video, she looked quite normal when dancing. But when she sat down in a chair, that leg stuck straight out....like a folded Novotny. It just looks so wrong.

The helical hinges don't look inherently subject to wear. The front shouldn't bear any load when riding. (The load bearing interface is all titanium.) The rear one bears a load, but it isn't rotating when riding. A plastic bearing should easily stand up to such static loading.